Sorry to hear about your bad experience on Ebay Marcel.
Maybe it would be great if we started a list of names that we shouldn't deal with (on this board)...I know the RPF has one already and maybe you could check to see if that name appears on it.

This will be a nice addition. A bad vendors list will be very usefull, I think.

There is a common belief about chinese and so on bad practices, but the real thing is different. I had bad experiences with chinese, and very good ones, and very very bad ones with canadian, german and so on.... so, origin is really not the point, is a more personal question.

I've developed a checklist to avoid the bad practices, either is not perfect:

1. Only bid/buy from Paypal vendors. At least, Paypal offers some kind of protection (not 100%!!!!).

2. Only accept deals with PowerSellers or 100% positive feedback vendors. There are exceptions, of course, but is a sort of nice practice.

3. Check out other resources first. Many times I found "rare" books and so on at high prices than were available at right price in Amazon, Abebooks, and so on. So, double check rarities!

4. Use insurance when available. Lost parcels are not so rare (I know that). When dealing with weapons replicas, dobule this and check all available data about (some countries are very restrictive at this point).

5. Breakable items are... breakable!!! Is not rare to receive a nice Braun cofee maker with glass broken, or a Marguerite glass, you know (well, in the Marguerite glass case, vendor replace it with no cost, thank you phoenixvader!!!!), but sometimes a replacement involves extra shipping cost at least. So, if you buy some really fragile item, be sure it will be shipped very carefull. I prefer to pay some extra money for extra protection, you know.

6. Use ebay claim features and Paypal ones. Ever. I let the time pass and wait mail do their work, but sometimes... shipment is simply not done. For any reason. Sickness, whatever... So, contact seller in a periodic way and avoid to loss the chance to claim. You don't wanna lost items and money....

7. Avoid, for all means, vendors with poor feedback or newbies.... A feedback less than 50 or so is nothing.... Some bad vendors rise to that point using alternate nicknames to buy themselves a list of crap items.... So, check out feedback one more time... Not sure? Pass it and go for another nice choice. Rare and hard to find items pops up in a very inusual way.... Patience is a must!!

And, finally, the item don't arrives at all. Bad luck after all. Be ready to this. I "accept" a minor lost of 2% of my bids. If you lost an item at first try, is a very bad luck!!!!! But.... if you lost one after 100 good deals.... well, is after all acceptable...

he bought 2 items off me, the Blade runner notes were of low value so i told him i would send it via plain mail to save him cash as anything under 500 grams out of Australia is $18 AUS , the other was of high value so i made him pay for registration, GUESS which one he claimed he never received????
I have never lost anything in the mail, this UNREGISTERED item seems to be the only one!!!
I have sent stuff here for free to members as an offering for absolutely NO MONEY and this guys not only got his money back off PAYPAL but leaves me feed back as "I" SCREWED him.
Better the story goes , he lifted a claim 2 weeks into it, then sends an email stating he receives it , "all good" he says.
Then he adds that he does not understand why ebay has not cancelled the claim, took the money and after I said , now send back the item or the cash, said he never received it.
End of story I am forced to pay up the cash!!!
I am so upset about this, just for the fact that this one guy will ruin it for everyone sooner or later.
I really cant do anything other than complain here as he seems to buy a lot of BR stuff , as most off you may agree this prop collecting and trading depends mostly on trust and to get rolled over for a few bucks , it is absolutely a disgrace!

Yep, that sucks big time! ...oldest trick in the book I'm afraid...better to be safe than sorry and do everything with Paypal to be sure. Problem is that this type has a tendency to get burned, then turns around and sell under another name

I commiserate with you , as I've been burned several times in the past , I now all ways use Paypal now for both buying and selling as it protects both parties to some extent , I bought an item recently for and on behalf of a customer from a guy who goes by the handle of Vulcan 22, I belive he uses another name on Ebay as well , his 'little trick' is to say he's sent the item , and if you complain about non-receipt he claims he will of course give you a refund but only if he gets his good back! and then wants you to prove it !! Thankfully he's in Europe, so we do have some recourse within the EEC to sort out people like this, but unfortunately it's a lot of time and trouble - so he's expecting me to do nothing - well he is mistaken - I will apply to get a court order for my money !- if you can - report them to the authorities - you can report internet fraud - and try to get some recompense.

Last edited by propsjonnyb on Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:54 am; edited 1 time in total

Unfortunately i am going to have to eat this one as he is in Paris France, no disrespect to any French guys out here, but it is going to be hard to let the authorities know of $50 bucks!!lol I have to pay back paypal.
I am going to be very happy just letting everyone know here of my unfortunate incident and with WHOM, so any of you dealing with this guy , just to proceed in a careful manner.
Someone here mentioned a thread to post incidents and feedback throughout the forum world and Ebay....... great idea if you ask me.
I am sure that this guy is not a member here????
as I honestly believe no one here would actuallly be such a person of low morals as not to honor a simple system , especially of such low value.
If he is here, eventually you will pop up .. his name is Jean Michel HUET.

Hello to everybody. I'm new here but i think we can see the problem the other way.
What would you think if someone you already traded before and trust made you pay a registered letter $ 7.5, sends the $ 42 props in plain airmail (with no garantee or tracking number therefore) and the item gets lost ?
I don't have any time to check on Australian mail website how much it would cost to send 9 prop banknotes to France but i suppose it won't get much over $ 2. So the seller has just kept around $ 5 at least for no reason.
If i am a seller and happen to make a mistake, forgetting to send the prop registered when at the post office. I just mail the buyer and tell him "hey mate, i make a mistake and forgot to mail it registered, sorry" And i refund the difference between what was paid and the mail fees. This, the seller didn't.
If i am the buyer i don't get the item after one month, i ask for the seller how he sent it and he says "plain airmail". i get quite upset since i didn't get the item and the seller also tried to get more money that was deserved. So I ask for refund at Paypal.
The only strange thing is that the seller who hasn't used registered mail he was paid for, which caused the props to be lost, calls me a liar and a thief.
He threatens to tell everybody on Propsummit and so on, i won't ever be able to deal with anybody else on earth...
For all of you, you have always guessed i am huetfam. That's what happened, according to me. you can verify on Ebay with the number 140392920859 of the item that i paid for registered mail. I also dare macel70 to show anybody the tracking number of the registered letter with can be verified on Australian mail i suppose if it was sent and IF it arrived.
I do sincerely regret to have to put this dispute public but i'm not the one who wished it. Macel70 is truly a great and gifted propmaker but he is also an individual who can't assume his own mistakes and reject them on his victim. I was the one who paid for the items , was cheated on postage, and gets publicly offended. When you deal with him in the future be sure to verify he uses the registered mail if you want to get the props you paid for.

Caught once, shame on him, caught twice same on you !

I am a 50 years old well-known professionnal as you can see on my personnal site and i don't think i would lower to try to cheat someone for $50, I may be tented above 50 millions dollars but not for $ 50.
Yours
J.M. HUET

Sounds like you've both got reason to feel a bit burned on this. Hopefully, you'll be able to come to some kind of resolution that satisfies you both.

In the meantime, I'm going to move this to the 'Seller Feedback' area, where discussions from Sellers about their experiences should be posted. The 'Forum Feedback" section is for comments and suggestions regarding PropSummit itself, not Buyer/Seller issues._________________Pete